


Under the Light

by pumpkingoddess



Category: Monsta X (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Fluff, M/M, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Underage Drinking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-01
Updated: 2017-06-12
Packaged: 2018-10-13 21:58:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 15,751
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10522725
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pumpkingoddess/pseuds/pumpkingoddess
Summary: Changkyun was looking forward to his second semester of his freshman year in college with his best friend and roommate, Minhyuk, by his side. They had parties to attend, alcohol to drink, and classes to skip to look forward too. But the first day back of their semester after a night out partying, Changkyun meets Hyungwon, someone who Changkyun can’t seem to get off his mind.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! This was totally self-indulgent, and not much research was put into this. I haven’t written anything for really long time now and want to get back into it, so I apologize for it being a little dry and somewhat sloppy. For reference, this will be relatively short. I hope to work on something better and longer for the future.

Changkyun was exhausted. 

He couldn’t stand the climb to simply get to the cafeteria, but at least he had Minhyuk attached to his hip, making the drudging walk that much easier. 

Minhyuk had a way of sucking you in with his voice. The timber sound of his nonstop babble was engaging, and he always had something to say. It was a rare occurrence that Minhyuk ceased talking; he was in a constant state of, “Oh, and another thing!” 

The scenery helped too. The tiresome walk from their dorm consisted of a small slice of nature. With trees of various shapes and sizes lining their path and small animals scurrying away, capturing the attention of students as they walked by, was entertaining. The crisp air was refreshing, filling their lungs as they trekked their hungover bodies up the hill.

“So that’s why I don’t think I’ll stay as a business major,” Minhyuk said.

Changkyun lifted his head, staring at his roommate. His hands were balled into fists, shoved deep down into his pockets. “What?”

“You know? I just don’t think it’s for me. I’ve only taken two business classes so maybe I can count them towards electives. I don’t think I’m in too deep for it to be a big deal.” Changkyun nodded his head solemnly. “I think communications would be so much better,” Minhyuk chatted as he opened the door to the cafeteria. “After you,” he insisted. Changkyun shuffled through the door, his hands still in his pockets as he listened to Minhyuk talk, debating the pros and cons of being a communications major. 

Normally Changkyun wasn’t this quiet. Him and Minhyuk were almost the same person with their wild vocabulary and non-stop conversation habits, but Changkyun wasn’t really in the mood. He was so hungover from the night before. Minhyuk befriended a frat boy named Jooheon last semester and the dynamic duo were invited to a party last night. Changkyun has accompanied Minhyuk to many parties and drank before, but they were out way too late last night. The combination of drinking into the AM and staying up until the horizon started to glow from the sun was not a good move. Changkyun’s body ached and everything seemed bruised. His poor skull was numb and he couldn’t seem to move his jaw to even talk. His eyes felt dryer than a desert and his throat felt raw like he drank bleach. All he knew was that he wanted food and a gallon of chocolate milk. 

Changkyun could barely pick up his feet as he moved like a zombie through the sea of scattered students and chairs. There was a murmur of talking amongst the bunches of students spread throughout the cafeteria fighting with the sound of the radio coming through the surrounding speakers. Changkyun knew exactly what he wanted: three veggie patties from the grill, only one with cheese. Since it was a new semester he couldn’t wait until he saw the face of the student behind the counter to give him a strange look for his request, but it was a regular thing for Changkyun. He needed his veggie patties. His veggie patties and a glass of chocolate milk. 

He sauntered up the counter with Minhyuk and waited until the student helper working would return to his post. Minhyuk immediately grabbed two plates of French fries and grabbed a seat far away from the grill counter. 

An extremely tall, lanky boy walked from the back holding a spatula in hand and a stack of hamburger patties on a plate, moving swiftly to the grill. His dark, shaggy hair swooped to the right and bounced every inch the boy moved, but Changkyun noticed his lips the most. They were plump, soft looking, and peach colored against his pale skin. Bags hung underneath his eyes; the poor boy looked too sleepy to be on the clock. 

Mesmerized by his good looks Changkyun couldn’t even speak up for his food request.

Changkyun shook his head to focus and come back to Earth. 

The pretty boy was hypnotizing. 

“Um, excuse me?” he managed to finally say, grasping every amount of courage he had within him, but the tall boy didn’t turn around. He sat at the grill dazing into the stove. “Hello, excuse me?” Changkyun tried again after clearing his throat. 

The boy turned around with a big doe eyes, shocked to see Changkyun lingering on the other side of the counter. He stood frozen in his spot, locking eyes with Changkyun.

“Oh, hi,” Changkyun managed, giving a small wave from his hand. “Sorry, but can I get three veggie patties please? I know they’re request only. No buns either, just the patties. Oh, and can I get one of them with just cheese?” 

“What?” the tall boy said walking towards Changkyun.

“I know it’s a really weird request, but can I get three veggie patties with no buns and one with cheese?” Changkyun asked meekly. 

The tall boy, whose name tag read “Kihyun” nodded enthusiastically. “Oh, yeah! Of course. Hold on and I’ll be right back!” Kihyun said. Changkyun replied with a thank you and shoved his hands back into his pockets while he waited. 

However, he couldn’t stop watching the boy behind the counter move; his defined lean muscles appearing as he hurried, the length of his curiously long eyelashes, his porcelain skin.

Changkyun felt his eyes go wide and immediately smashed his hand to his face, dragging it down from embarrassment. He desperately felt like he needed to reel back the infatuation with this complete stranger. He couldn’t help it; his hungover mind just wanted to focus on one thing.

After flipping the patties over at the stove, Kihyun came back to Changkyun. 

“Thanks for waiting! I’m really sorry about earlier, I just couldn’t hear you over the sound of the stove and the kitchen back there. It can get real loud.”

“No worries,” Changkyun urged. 

Suddenly, a small boy with amber colored hair came scampering from the opening towards the back of the kitchen. He was holding a hat and something small balled into his other hand. 

“Hey, hey I’m here. I came as fast as you texted me,” he said handing Kihyun the hat and item in his hands. “They were right where you said they would be.”

“Thanks, man. I really owe you one. Oh, and this is for you,” Kihyun said, slipping off his name tag and handing it to the shorter boy. “Can’t believe I grabbed your name tag instead of mine and managed to forget my hat at the same time. I’m never going to one of Jooheon’s parties again. It messed me up too bad.”

Changkyun’s ears immediately perked up as the taller boy, who apparently isn’t named Kihyun at all, mentioned Jooheon’s name. There was no way he was at the same party as him and Minhyuk. Changkyun would’ve noticed a face like his. Maybe he was too drunk after all. He made a mental note to take it easier next time, he can’t spare not remembering someone like him.

“Sorry to interrupt, but did you say Jooheon? Like Lee Jooheon of Phi Kap?” Changkyun inserted himself. He felt his heart race as he interjected himself into the conversation unannounced, but he had to become part of it somehow. “That’s one of my roommate’s friends. I was there too.”

The two boys on the other side of the counter looked at Changkyun with blank stares. The boy with the red hair, Kihyun apparently, broke the silence. “No way!”

“Yeah, sorry you have to be subjected to Jooheon’s terrible parties. They literally last for 24 hours. I don’t know how his house manages it,” the taller boy said shaking his head while slipping on his name tag and tugging on his work hat simultaneously. Changkyun noticed that his name tag read, Hyungwon. “I’ll be back,” he murmured, grabbing a plate and turning back towards the grill. Changkyun watched as he flipped the patties onto a plate and turned around, handing Changkyun the plate in return. “Hope they’re good.” Hyungwon gave Changkyun a glowing smile that made his cheekbones more prominent and eyes crinkled. The sincerity of his gesture made Changkyun’s stomach tie into knot after knot. 

“I’m sure they’ll be fine!” Changkyun tried to say cheerfully, but the hangover was still nagging at his insides. 

“Wait,” the shorter boy, Kihyun, said pointing at the patties on the plate as they were handed to Changkyun. “Three veggie patties and one with cheese? I remember you! You would come in right when I would switch shifts with my coworker every Friday last semester. I would sometimes take your order.”

Changkyun was mortified that someone remembered him for his three veggie patties. Especially considering he was in front of this new crush of his, but he knew it was a strange request. He has to own it at this point.

“Wow, I’m so sorry you had to deal with me for a whole semester, but three veggie patties… they’re just my go to meal for hangovers.”

“Ah, that makes sense now. Mines definetly pizza. It’s a must have,” Kihyun said adoringly as he gazed into the distance. 

“Pizza?” Hyungwon chided with a sour face. “For me it’s fruit or salad. Something that’s healthy or at least has some color. I alway feel like I need to restart my system after those kinds of nights. Veggie patties might be a good choice.” Hyungwon smiled, glancing at Changkyun, who, again, felt like he was impaled in his gut. 

Not sure what to say next, Changkyun felt his palms go clammy, beading with cold sweat under the warmth of his plate. “It was nice meeting you guys. I’ll be back next week I’m sure,” he said, nodding in their direction.

“Wait, what’s your name?” Kihyun said.

“Changkyun.”

“Well, if we see you at one of Jooheon’s,” in which Kihyun added a dramatic eyeroll to his friend’s name, “infamous parties, we’ll be sure to say hi.” The shorter boy held out his hand to Changkyun to shake. Further mortified by his sweaty palms, Changkyun resented this gesture, but shook his hand anyway.

“Sorry, they’re warm from the plate,” he laughed, shaking both Kihyun and Hyungwon’s hands, who chuckled in return. “See you guys later.” 

Changkyun couldn’t get to his seat in front of Minhyuk fast enough. He practically ran with his head down across the cafeteria to their spot. 

“You were gone a pretty long time there,” Minhyuk implored. “What took you so long?”

“Ah, nothing really. Just the guys behind the counter were at that party last night, so we talked for a little bit. Nothing too interesting.”

Minhyuk glanced behind his friend back to the two working the counter at the grill. “Oh, really? They seem to have taken an interest in you. Seems like they’re staring.”

Changkyun figured they were probably discussing the boy with the infamous three patties sitting across the cafeteria. He didn’t dare turn around. Instead, he simply decided to let their eyes burn a hole into the back of his head. Changkyun wasn’t someone who would get embarrassed easily, but for some reason, he felt his cheeks burning, hot with chagrin. In his head, he cursed Hyungwon. It shouldn’t be so easy to be embarrassed by a breathtaking individual, but along with his three patties, he swallowed his pride as well.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm still having fun writing this :~) hope it's decent!

“Dude, I hate school,” Minhyuk cried, barging into their dorm room at exactly eleven o’clock. “I can’t do a three-hour, eight AM class on a Monday. It’s going to be physically impossible, and the professor is such a hardass on attendance! Please, please, please switch lives with me,” the snow white haired boy begged. Changkyun’s roommate tossed his body on his own bed and groaned loudly into his pillow, flailing in protest. 

Changkyun chuckled under his breath and paused the video game he was playing on his computer to pay attention to his roommate. He had a class soon anyway, at one, an hour and fifteen-minute biology lecture followed by a thirty-minute break then a bio lab for two hours. As far as he knew he didn’t have any friends in this class. No Minhyuk or any either of his neighbors, Hoseok or Jooheon. 

“Hey, let’s go get lunch before I’m stuck in bio hell for three hours,” Changkyun suggested, hoping to lift his roommate out of his funk. With the mention of food, Minhyuk’s head perked up from his bed and nodded. 

Once the boys left their dorm with their school supplies in hand, Changkyun took into the account of the warm sun that was sneaking its own subtle way through the clouds. The warmth of the sun’s rays hitting his cheeks and the smell of the crisp, fresh air made the first day back to classes a little more enjoyable. It’s even more pleasant that he’s no longer nursing the dreadful hangover from Jooheon’s party Saturday night. Well, it wasn’t actually Jooheon’s, it was Hyunwoo’s house, Jooheon’s Big in Phi Ki, but Minhyuk and Changkyun were just lucky enough to be neighbors with Jooheon across the hall. The night of, the group of boys, including Jooheon’s roommate Hoseok, walked to the Phi Ki party down the street from their dorm and it wasn’t until dawn started to break through the skies that Changkyun and Minhyuk walked back. Actually, more like crawled. 

Minhyuk and Changkyun decided to skip the cafeteria and treated themselves to one of the cafes on campus for lunch instead. They figured they should sit and enjoy the weather while they can since they’ll be stuck in between classrooms and the library for the rest of the semester. 

At the cafe, Minhyuk ordered a loaded salad with a fruit smoothie while Changkyun bought a toasted sandwich. The boys took a seat outside in the warm sunshine and began eating. 

“There’s gonna be another party Thursday night. Are we going?” Minhyuk offered.

Changkyun sighed, exhausted at just the thought, but he quickly realized that he might run into Hyungwon there since he claimed he and Kihyun were there last time. 

Nodding, Changkyun said, “Sure,” between chews of his sandwich. “I’m down.”

Sweat pricked at Changkyun’s palms with hopes of running into Hyungwon somewhere so casually. He soon collected himself and his thoughts as he begrudgingly walked to his biology class in the science building after saying goodbye to Minhyuk. 

The biology building looked reminiscent of a prison. However, surrounding the building was ivy climbing up the walls and flowers, covering the whole spectrum of the rainbow, lined the border around it. Behind the science building was a garden as well, where volunteers would take turns caring for the plants and flowers. 

Changkyun knew exactly where his class was. The biggest lecture in the entire hall. He was early to class with plenty of time to have a desirable seat. A seat that would be dedicated to him for the rest of the semester, despite there being no assigned seating. It was an unspoken rule throughout all colleges. Once he opened the door to the class he was surprised by how many people were there; the room was already a quarter of the way filled. Changkyun chose wisely, near the back of the room, but not too far, and a row where he didn’t have to squeeze by too many people. He favored the left side and sat down. Looking around the class, he didn’t recognize anyone. Some people looked familiar. Maybe they were in his lectures from last semester? But he couldn’t fit any names to faces. Looking to pass time, Changkyun pulled out his phone and scrolled through social media until the professor arrived. 

Periodically, Changkyun would glance up on his phone to see the people walking in. Again, not anyone he noticed.

Suddenly, he heard the door open, assuming it would be the professor, but it wasn’t. It was Hyungwon. He was wearing casual clothes instead of his work uniform, and Changkyun noted he had some style, but still managed to look effortless. Changkyun scolded himself momentarily for being always so casual. 

Hyungwon wore dark wash jeans with holes ripped at the knees and laced up boots. He had a loose fitting, black t-shirt tucked into his jeans and a dark flannel tied at his waist. Thick black sunglasses covered his eyes, which as he took off and scanned the room until his eyes met directly with Changkyun.

Hyungwon then started walking towards Changkyun’s side of the room, which made him sweat. Changkyun realized immediately that Hyungwon was walking towards him to sit with him. 

Changkyun held his breath as Hyungwon glided to the other side of the room, walked up the aisle, passed the group of people to the left, and slid into the seat next to Changkyun.

“Hey there, Veggie Patty,” Hyungwon said as he sat.

Mortified. Changkyun was mortified. It was going to be his current state of being until he died at this point.

“Hey,” he finally choked.

“Sorry, I won’t call you that, Changkyun. I swear,” Hyungwon laughed. “I’m glad you’re here though. I wasn’t sure if I would know anyone taking biology. Everyone I know has taken it already or is in a different lecture, but I needed the lab, you know? When do you have your lab?”

Hyungwon was talking a mile a minute and was so confident in every word he said, clearly not phased with Changkyun’s presence like Changkyun was with his. 

“My lab is right after class at 2:45.”

“Is it really? I’m in that class too! Thank God. I was so scared of not knowing anyone again.”

Changkyun was damn near ready to explode. The amount of coincidences that were looming after him in reference to Hyungwon’s presence was growing exponentially by the minute. Changkyun wondered how Hyungwon felt so comfortable talking to a stranger like himself. Maybe it was because after their encounter yesterday Hyungwon noticed Changkyun’s vulnerability and felt it was just that easy to talk to him. 

After a few minutes, Changkyun felt the same way. There was something about Hyungwon’s personality and demeanor that made him easy to talk too. Suddenly, they had a steady conversation flowing between the two of them. They debated if their biology class would be difficult or not; if the professor would be nice or mean; they even made long term plans to help each other study for future exams. Once their professor walked in their conversation diminished and they were forced to pay attention to the lecture displayed in front of them. Every once awhile they’d give each other looks, mocking their boredom as the professor looked over the syllabus. The class seemed straightforward if they did the work, but they couldn’t stand knowing that it was a beautiful day outside and they were stuck in a classroom. 

The professor lectured the whole time, but Changkyun no longer felt like he was nervous around Hyungwon. He did find himself gazing at Hyungwon’s face, admiring the length of his eyelashes and his soft cheeks. Before he knew it, their professor said his goodbyes, ending the lecture. The boys quickly packed up and left their class.

“Alright, we have 30 minutes before we have our lab and I want of coffee. Do you want to come?” Hyungwon offered. 

Changkyun nodded. They managed to make small talk, but something came to Changkyun’s mind.

“So, I have a question. How do you know Jooheon?”

“I, or I guess Kihyun, didn’t tell you, huh?” Hyungwon said as the boys sat in line of the cafe. “Jooheon has a brother in the frat, Hyunwoo, and he was Kihyun’s roommate freshman, sophomore, and junior year, until this year. Hyunwoo moved into a house with some other brothers since he’s a senior now. He figured it would be a good move.” It was Hyungwon’s turn to order at the register. He asked for an Americano. “Do you want anything? My treat,” he offered.

Changkyun was smitten with the genuineness of Hyungwon offering to buy coffee for a practical stranger. He felt his cheeks flush at the thought, even though Changkyun didn’t even like coffee. He quickly glanced at the menu and order the first thing he saw, fruity iced tea with a name he could barely pronounce.

“Thank you. I owe you next time,” Changkyun said, but Hyungwon waved away his comment.

“No, don’t you dare,” he replied. “Anyway, Kihyun and I worked together at the cafeteria and I was on the waitlist for housing on campus, but he liked me enough to offer me a room at the end of the year. So I ditched the waitlist and moved into Hyunwoo’s old room.”

“So you’re a sophomore?” Changkyun asked, sitting at a table and waiting for their drinks.

Hyungwon nodded. “Yeah, and Kihyun is a senior. He’s still best friends with Hyunwoo though. Anyway, I don’t know how well you know Jooheon, but he happens to be Hyunwoo’s little brother. It’s hilarious, because they’re exact opposites. You know Jooheon, he’s loud and obnoxious, Hyunwoo’s the total opposite, but they love each other. It’s adorable really, and although it’s Hyunwoo’s house, it’s always Jooheon’s party, you know what I mean?”

Changkyun knew exactly what Hyungwon meant. Jooheon was always the one indulging in everything he could get his hands on. He was a spectacle in his own way. He owned every room he walked into. Jooheon was a complete ham and hotshot, especially when he drank, but Jooheon was also incredibly loyal and friendly. Despite his big personality, it was incredibly easy to love every part of it. 

Eventually, Hyungwon’s name was called for their drinks. As Changkyun took as sip of his iced tea, he was surprised at how good it was, even though he had no idea even how to pronounce the name of it. After the boys took their drinks, they began to walk to class, chatting with every step. It was still nice out, which made the walk to class that much more difficult. 

Once they reached their room, the two boys sat at a lab table to the side. It was the only option left for two people. All the other lab tables were taken up with students. It was a small room too. There were a total of sixteen desks in a three rows by four rows, two stools seated at each desk. Students kept flowing in one at a time. Vaguely familiar faces registered with Changkyun from lecture. 

Suddenly, their professor walked in and a hush fell over the room along with another older looking student, who Changkyun assumed would be the TA for this class. The professor introduced himself yet again and explained what it meant to be in a biology lab as well as lecture. Changkyun and Hyungwon kept stealing glances at each other, nodding along with the professor’s words. Changkyun was remotely excited to start this semester. He had a new friend, and biology didn’t seem absolutely horrendous, despite being stuck in class for almost 4 hours on a Monday afternoon.

The professor then introduced that everyone will have a lab partner for four weeks. Then people will switch. He explained that it would be beneficial for everyone to work with different people and create a community amongst everyone. 

“Today will be easy everyone. I’ve already assigned lab partners, so I’m sorry if you have a friend in this class. You’ll most likely be split for this time, but don’t hesitate to ask your friends for help during your labs.” Changkyun could feel his stomach sink. It’s probably a good thing that you wouldn’t be partners with Hyungwon anyway. “That’s certainly encouraged. I want everyone to stand up from their desks and I will call out a duo’s name. Once you have met take a seat and introduce yourselves. After I’m done, I’ll let you guys go. Sound good?”

Everyone agreed and began to scoot from their seats and waited for their names to be called. After about four pairs, the professor called out Changkyun’s name.

“And… Chae Hyungwon.”

Chankyun’s head snapped up in disbelief. He shot a glance at Hyungwon who was smiling.

“Yes,” Hyungwon dragged under his breath. They took a seat in the middle of the class and waited for everyone’s names to be called and the professor’s further instructions. 

“So everyone here’s my advice: get to know your partner. Get their phone number, become friends, etcetera, because if one of you isn’t in lecture or in lab, you’ll have someone to fall back on. Okay? Once you’re set, go ahead and go, you’re free. Enjoy your Monday. Come talk to me with any questions.”

Hyungwon flipped his head and looked at Changkyun.

“My name is Hyungwon,” he said in an extremely deep voice, offering his hand. “I’m an environmental science major and I enjoy long walks on the beach.”

Changkyun was laughing so hard, he couldn’t take Hyungwon seriously. His joke, or prank, was awful. Hyungwon was just being dorky and Changkyun loved it. Still giggling he shook Hyungwon’s hand, but Hyungwon grasped it and aggressively shook it up and down, practically pulling Changkyun’s arm out of the socket. It only made Changkyun laugh more.

Hyungwon continued in his ridiculous voice, “I can tell we’re going to be great partners. Yes, indeed!” 

Suddenly, Hyungwon stopped with his facade and grabbed his phone. “Seriously though, having your phone number would be a great idea. Not only can we help each other with this class, but if I’m stuck at Jooheon’s next party I will have someone to bother.”

Changkyun was still giggling, as he typed his phone number into Hyungwon’s phone. Tears were close to coming out of his eyes from laughing. He was also trying not to simultaneously combust that he now has Hyungwon’s number. “Works for me. I could always use a new beer pong partner. My roommate is God awful.”

Hyungwon laughed as he stepped down from his seat. His legs are so long it feels like seconds to Changkyun until his feet hit the ground. “Snow White, right? The one that was in the cafeteria with you the other day.” Changkyun nodded.

“Yeah, that’s Minhyuk.”

As they leave class, Hyungwon asked which way Changkyun is heading.

“Oh, I live in the North building,” he pointed, as if Hyungwon didn’t already know. 

“Oh duh, that’s right. You live near Jooheon. I’m parked over in that general direction. I’ll walk with you,” Hyungwon offered with a smile. Changkyun felt his heart speeding up yet again. 

The sun isn’t exactly setting, but the weather has certainly changed. It almost feels like summer. A haze lingered on the horizon and the sky is inked with pinks and oranges in the sky instead of a clear blue. A soft breeze picked up, brushing Changkyun’s hair every which way. It’s practically romantic, but he doesn’t dare mention anything to Hyungwon about a sunset. 

In the meantime, the boys chatted. About school, their major, the semester so far. Hyungwon’s job. Changkyun’s lack of a job. Their families and friends. All in the span of fifteen minutes. It doesn’t seem like that long until they reach Changkyun’s dorm, where he wants to invite Hyungwon in, but doesn’t want to make things weird. Hyungwon mentioned he’s going to his car anyway. He must have something going on, but Changkyun dreamed. He imagined asking Hyungwon upstairs and just talking, like they have, but continuously. It’s so easy with Hyungwon. He seems to match Changkyun’s goofiness, although he hasn’t been acting like himself too much since, but that really appealed to him. Hyungwon’s presence was practically magnetic, and Changkyun thought he has no idea. 

“Well, my car is over there. I’ll see you on Wednesday right, for class?” Hyungwon said as they reach Changkyun’s dorm building. “I have a class that gets out right before class so I’ll probably save you a seat.”

Changkyun nodded, “Yeah that works, thanks. You have my number too, so just let me know.” 

“Oh, yeah that’s right!” Hyungwon hit his forehead. “Well, I’ll see you Wednesday. Have a good night!” He waved, headed for his car, pulling out his keys as well. 

Changkyun returned the gesture and practically ran back to his dorm room. He flew up the stairs and almost broke his key shoving it through the lock. The door swung open and revealing a startled Minhyuk on the other side.

“Are you, like, okay?” he said, a concerned and perplexed look on his face.

“Minhyuk, I swear if I am dreaming, this is the time for you pinch me and wake me up alright? I cannot have the day I had and live to tell the tale. I don’t know what I did to deserve such a fate,” Changkyun incessantly said. 

“Dear God, if you don’t tell me what happened to you, I will go ask for a roommate exchange right now.”

Changkyun did. He told his roommate every detail that he can think of starting from the moment Changkyun left his sights earlier today. He found it unbelievable that everything happened in only a span of a few hours, but he doesn’t spare any details for Minhyuk, and Minhyuk listened to every word. 

“And then he walked me to our building. Well, he said he was parked over here, so he could walk with me anyway.”

A grin spread across Minhyuk’s face, reaching from ear to ear, and he began to shake his head. He looked directly in his roommate’s eyes and said, “You like him, huh?”

“I mean… yeah. I guess so. I don’t know.”

“It’s okay. Be smitten,” Minhyuk laughed and leaned back on his bead. “You know what? I’m surprised we haven’t met him before if he’s friends with Hyunwoo and Jooheon.”

“I guess, but I mean think about it. When we go to Jooheon’s parties we usually hang out with other freshman or lose at beer pong and do our own thing at that point. Plus, we’re always drunk. Faces and names are hard to remember at some point.”

Minhyuk shrugged, agreeing with his roommate, but immediately broke out into a grin again.

“Changkyun has a crush,” he teased in a sing-song voice. Changkyun grabbed one of his pillows and flung it at his roommate who shrieked in protest. 

The two laugh and go back to what they normally do: video games and neglection of homework, and they do it so well. The whole time, Changkyun can’t get his mind of Hyungwon though. Every coincidence that has led up to this point. Every word the Hyungwon has muttered to Changkyun has hooked him further into his infatuation with Hyungwon. Everything about him seems new. His incredible good looks, his sense of humor, that smile. Hyungwon can simply walk into a room and sincerely glow without even knowing it. And that, more than anything, is what lingers on Changkyun’s mind and clutches to his heart.


	3. Chapter 3

Changkyun woke up to the sound of a roaring lawn mower outside his bedroom window. Granted, he couldn’t be upset since it was roughly noon. The rest of the world had the right to be awake at this time. He reached for his phone to turn off his alarm that would soon be going off once 12:00 PM rolled around. He looked at Minhyuk who was cocooned in his own sheets, curled into a ball with his blankets pulled close; his bright white hair peeking out of his comforter. Having a difficult time adjusting to their school schedules, in addition to their late night staying up playing video games, caused them to sleep in way too late. With small assignments due the next week, the boys didn’t see any harm playing online until the early morning.

With a great deal of hesitation and uncertainty, Changkyun dragged himself out of bed. He was still recovering from his second day back to school. Tuesdays happened to be his longer days; it consisted of two, four-hour long classes and another one for two hours. He was amazed that he could survive and stay up with Minhyuk. However, he felt rested, and once he lugged himself into the shower he felt even more awake and ready for his day.

Another day to see Hyungwon.

Unfortunately, since their lab was only once a week, Changkyun was disappointed that he wouldn’t be seeing Hyungwon for those two extra hours. Regardless, he assumed that Hyungwon would be sitting next to him again and that sufficed.

After his refreshing shower, Changkyun grabbed his necessary school work, threw it into his backpack, and dashed out of this dorm to grab food before his class, trying to not disturb Minhyuk in the process since he managed to still be asleep.

However, Changkyun didn’t realize the hellish line waiting for him inside the cafeteria.

“Fuck,” he whispered under his breath. He didn’t consider the long line for lunch, but he had to eat before class. He was starving.

Changkyun decided to grab one of the premade, to-go sandwiches instead of something decent from one of the cafeteria stations. He just needed to get a spot in one of the lines and sprint to class. The clock already read 12:45 and he couldn’t lose his ideal seat in class. He scanned and counted how many people stood in front of him in line until his eyes locked with one particular person who stood near the front.

Hyungwon.

The tall boy gave a wave and gestured for Changkyun to come speak to him. Changkyun shrunk, embarrassed to cut almost a dozen people in line, but he wasn’t about to pass up an opportunity to talk to Hyungwon. He simply tried to not make eye contact with anyone as he jumped the line, slinking away.

“Hey,” Changkyun greeted Hyungwon sheepishly. “What’s up?”

“Nothing. I guess great minds think alike, huh?” he responded, pointing to the sandwich in Changkyun’s hands and gesturing to his own. Changkyun nods and falls into a trance looking at Hyungwon.

“I had the worst time parking, otherwise I would’ve ordered something else.”

The boys commentated on the fact that neither of them did the biology reading they were supposed to before class, but hoped there would be no repercussions for it. They agreed that it was terribly hard to get back into the motions of school work when they were still recovering from their month-long winter break.

They soon found themselves seated and munching on their sandwiches in class. Their seats were still open by the time they arrived; thankfully everyone still abided by the unspoken rule. Since the sandwich was the first thing Changkyun ate all day he scarfed it down within seconds, and just hoped that Hyungwon didn’t notice. He, on the other hand, had his foot propped on the back of the seat that was in front of him, and slumped into his chair. His sandwich carton rested on his desk and took one triangle slice in his left hand and had his phone in the other; Changkyun could clearly see him scrolling through social media. So, he jumped at his chance to make conversation before class started.

“Hey, let me follow your account,” Changkyun offered.

Hyungwon was in the middle of chewing, but he smiled and nodded. He showed Changkyun his username and gained a new follower. Changkyun internally complimented himself for making these subtle moves without anyone helping him out, like his professor did on Monday, forcing the partners to exchange phone numbers.

Without missing a beat, Hyungwon followed him back, which resulted in Changkyun breaking out into a grin that he sincerely couldn’t hide. When he realized his facial expression, he glanced at Hyungwon to see if he had noticed, but the tall boy was still scrolling through his phone and once Changkyun turned back to his own he had another notification.

Hyungwon had liked a picture that Changkyun posted more than three months ago. It was a picture that Hoseok, Changkyun’s neighbor and Jooheon’s roommate, had taken for one of his photography classes. Hoseok was a double major in photography and film and he was always looking for models. He reached out to Changkyun one day after Changkyun had recently decided to change his hair. It was much shorter than the floppier, messier look that he once had, and at the moment he would style it. At the time, Hoseok, who was obsessed with aesthetics, liked how it framed Changkyun’s face, so Hoseok asked him to be a model.

It was an interesting experience since Changkyun already felt so uncomfortable looking in the mirror, but that haircut did something for his confidence then. With Hoseok’s blessing as well, it simply boosted him a little bit more.

The pictures simply came out amazing. Hoseok had a real talent for capturing people and making them appear beautiful. It was a seemingly simple portrait, a picture of Changkyun’s profile, but Changkyun liked it enough to put this picture on social media. He truly thought that Hoseok made him feel artsy and cool.

Once Changkyun saw the notification from Hyungwon he smiled even more. He went back to Hyungwon’s profile and glanced at the photos he’s posted. Most of them were of scenery, artsy pictures, delicious looking food, and not so many pictures of himself or other people; unlike Changkyun’s own profile, which was filled with him with friends and their adventures. He didn’t take too much time with edits and filters like Hyungwon.

As Changkyun searched through Hyungwon’s profile he found an actual picture of Hyungwon from March of last year, when Hyungwon was a freshman. He was standing on a hill, a couple feet away from the person who took the picture, and behind him was a city skyline. It was somewhat cloudy outside and Hyungwon was bundled in a large jacket, his hands deep inside his jacket pockets. He wore a big smile on his face. Hyungwon looked genuinely happy.

Changkyun pressed the “like” button and immediately looked back at Hyungwon, who, only moments later, looked at Changkyun. He laughed and readjusted himself in his seat, his eyes going back to his phone. Changkyun noticed that Hyungwon is still on Changkyun’s profile, but he looked back at his phone: Hyungwon liked another picture. A picture of Changkyun, Minhyuk, and Jooheon at Hyunwoo’s house for a party last semester. No one is even looking at the camera, but they all have their arms around each other, laughing. Minhyuk trying to stifle his laughter with his hand.

Now it was Changkyun’s turn. He scrolled through Hyungwon’s profile and selected a picture of their school. A truly aesthetic picture that made the school seem more beautiful. He pressed the “like” button and waited.

It became a social media war.

The boys went back and forth on each other’s profiles, clicking, and learning about the other’s life. Changkyun thought it was interesting seeing which pictures Hyungwon selected and wondered if Hyungwon thought of the same of Changkyun. They continued their pattern until their professor showed up at a total of eight minutes late, but the boys were having fun while preoccupying themselves. Changkyun was severely disappointed when he realized that his professor was in the front of the class ready to present his lecture. However, even during class, the boys continued their game in between scribbling down bio notes. At the end of their hour and fifteen-minute lecture, Changkyun had a total of 52 notifications from Hyungwon.

Immediately after class, the boys began to mention their banter via picture likes on their way out the door. There was no discussion of biology to be found between the two of them. Hyungwon asked all about Changkyun’s friends – mostly Minhyuk, Jooheon, and Hoseok – while Changkyun asked Hyungwon about all the places he’s traveled and his favorite foods.

“I don’t think I ever asked you, but what’s your major?” Hyungwon asked perplexed.

“Uh, history actually.”

“History?” Hyungwon sounded baffled and in disbelief.

Changkyun scoffed jokingly. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I… I’m not sure. I’m kind of surprised for some reason, but that’s cool. Why history?”

Changkyun explained why he enjoyed the subject so much. He declared history a month into school after having his general education history class for the first few weeks. His professor was one of the essential reasons since he was interesting and passionate about the subject himself, but Changkyun found that he was engaged and participating, something he didn’t do typically in his other classes. He declared history without hesitation. Changkyun loved it and loved to talk about all the interesting things he learned.

Before they knew it, they were in front of the North building where Changkyun’s dorm was located. Hyungwon gave a look to Changkyun, but he couldn’t figure out what it was for, or what emotion it resembled, but it disappeared from Hyungwon’s face as fast it appeared.

“I guess this is where we depart,” Hyungwon said dramatically, gazing off in the distance. Changkyun scoffed again at his poor joke. Hyungwon’s humor was dramatic and deadpan and Changkyun could never take him seriously, but Hyungwon quickly went on. “Are you going to Hyunwoo’s party tomorrow?”

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure Minhyuk and I are going with our neighbors.”

“Alright good, because Kihyun and I will be there.” Hyungwon smiled and nodded. “I’ll definetly see you tomorrow then.” The tall boy waved bye to Changkyun and headed towards the parking lot. Changkyun just stood there unable to move his feet to go upstairs; he just stared at Hyungwon leaving. Before he finally decided to turn his back and leave, he saw Hyungwon look back, smile, and turn around once again. That smile stung.

Changkyun grumbled all the way up the stairs, dragging himself. He was essentially miserable. He enjoyed hanging out with Hyungwon so much. Changkyun was liking Hyungwon, too much and too soon.

He was debating if he should even mention the social media pictures to Minhyuk. Maybe he should keep this crush to himself, especially how Minhyuk reacted just a few days ago.

When Changkyun walked into his dorm not only did he see Minhyuk, but Jooheon and Hoseok were on Changkyun’s bed. His friends’ presence alone pulled him out of his misery. Changkyun felt himself light up and smile probably way too wide, but he hadn’t seen them since Saturday, and he felt that they always brought the best out in him.

“Hey, we were wondering when you would come home,” Hoseok said, running his hands through his pale blue hair. He always seemed to be dying it bright colors and Changkyun could never keep up. “Here we’ll get up.”

Changkyun shook his head, “No, no I’ll take the floor.” Changkyun sat with his legs crossed on his floor after tossing his backpack on his desk.

“So how was class?” Minhyuk asked.

Remembering what he told himself, Changkyun shrugged. “It was okay.”

Too short. He wanted to vomit everything out about Hyungwon, but he needed to hold back for his sanity’s sake. Just talking about it would make him feel worse.

The guys nodded and fell into silence for a little bit, which was significantly unusual with their group.

“Okay, I’m just gonna say it, because it’s literally what we’re all thinking. What the hell is happening with Chae Hyungwon?” Jooheon finally piped.

Changkyun felt his cheeks immediately flushed with redness. They were burning hot.

“How do you know about that?”

“Dude, we all follow you. We saw your activity on the feed. Look!” Jooheon said, tossing his phone gently to Changkyun, who thankfully caught it. “You started following him and then immediately liked 52 pictures?”

The proof was right there. Every time he pressed the like button everyone who followed him could see it. Changkyun huffed, only slightly embarrassed, but at least now he had an excuse to talk about Hyungwon in full detail. He told them everything: from the line at the cafeteria to following each other on social media to when they walked to Changkyun’s dorm again.

Changkyun broke down and told them everything. He then backed up to Sunday at the cafeteria until now. He didn’t spare any small detail, mostly because he wanted their opinions as well. Changkyun was concerned that he just needed to squash this crush before it grew any larger. His friends responded well as they gazed at Changkyun from his bed nodding and giving little quips of feedback. By the time he finished his story that led him to his current place Hoseok and Jooheon looked at each other then back to Changkyun.

“Alright so you like this guy?” Jooheon asked.

Changkyun shrugged. “Yeah, I’m starting to feel that way, but it’s nothing intense you know. Like I’m taking everything he says and does romantically and it’s just festering in my thoughts.” He laughed nervously, “I don’t like this.”

Silence fell again and Changkyun noticed Minhyuk just staring at the two lying on Changkyun’s bed.

“Honestly, I don’t know this guy too well, but I don’t think he would be flagging you down in lines or liking your old pictures or walking with you to classes just for the hell out it. Think about it,” Hoseok offered.

“Yeah, and I think out of everyone I know him the best and he’s a good dude. He goes to Hyunwoo’s house a lot. He’s quiet mostly, so it kind of shocks me that this is the same Chae Hyungwon were talking about, but regardless,” Jooheon waves away his last comment with his hand. “You should continue to take this with a grain of salt either way. Like I said, he’s a decent guy as far as I know and you seem to really like him.”

Changkyun rested his face in his hands and pouted and huffed. Why was Jooheon, out of all of them, being his voice of reason?

“I don’t like this Sad-Puppy-Dog-Changkyun,” Hoseok mentioned with his face twisting like he ate something sour. “Stop whining and listen to Jooheon. He’s right! We can see you guys together.”

“Please, stop. Just stop,” Changkyun begged.

Hoseok stuck out his tongue at Changkyun. “You’re so embarrassed, it’s cute.”

Minhyuk and Jooheon laughed, which made Changkyun roll his eyes. He just had to let them tease him at this point. There was nothing that Changkyun could say that would stop them so he let them banter about Hyungwon and Changkyun, resulting in moments of his suffering.

“Oh!” Jooheon said suddenly. “I’m pretty sure he’s coming to Hyunwoo’s party tomorrow. You should -”

“I know. We talked about it already,” Changkyun interrupted.

Jooheon raise his eyebrows. “Oh, you talked about it?” he said accusatorily, and continued to mock Changkyun by claiming how Changkyun and Hyungwon were going to hook up tomorrow night. Jooheon was being so absurd with his teasing that all Changkyun to do was laugh. 

“Okay, stop talking,” Hoseok finally said breaking Jooheon’s banter. He looked completely shocked that someone would interrupt him, again, but it was only his dramatic persona. “I do believe that you should not give up wholeheartedly just yet. Go with it, and just hope for the best.”

“Yeah, I agree with Hoseok. You guys would make a cute couple,” Minhyuk chimed in.

At that moment, Changkyun grabbed a pillow that fell off his bed when the guys started to make themselves comfortable. He chucked the pillow at Minhyuk who acted like he was shot by a bullet or like something significantly heavy just landed on his chest, shattering all his bones. Changkyun rolled his eyes. He didn’t know who was worse: Minhyuk or Jooheon with their dramatizations. Their attitudes totally fed off one another, and being in a room with them for too long could definetly cause a headache.

Hoseok was the one to cut them off completely by grabbing the video game controllers off Changkyun’s nightstand. “Listen we’re gonna do what we came here for, alright?” he said, tossing Changkyun one of the controllers. Changkyun nodded his head in agreement.

“Works for me.”

All the guys faced the TV that rested on what is supposed to be Minhyuk’s nightstand near their closet and bathroom of their dorm. They played their latest favorite game and took turns with passing along the controllers. Typically, Changkyun owned his title of the all-reigning master, but Hoseok was quickly coming up with seemingly new tricks to win the first-person shooter game. The boys ended up ordering pizza, adding to the extravagance of their wild Wednesday night. Jooheon kept up the dramatic persona as he lost game after game, claiming it was the grease of the pizza that was making the controller slip between his fingers. Minhyuk tried to eat as many slices of pizza as he could and Hoseok won game after game in silence while Changkyun stewed with vengeance for his title.

At one point, Changkyun was watching Minhyuk be destroyed by Hoseok and with such a predictable outcome Changkyun decided to glance at his phone, scrolling through various social media. Until he saw that Hyungwon posted a new picture. It was an artful picture of his desk, which was made of dark wood, against a white wall with a chair symmetrically tucked in. A stack of books was neatly placed in the far-left corner next to a pencil holder and pyramid of notebooks to the right. A line of polaroid photos hung above his desk on a thread. The photo screamed minimalist, which made Changkyun laugh since his desk was used as an essential closet and a place to throw his backpack. The comment on the photo was a remotely lame statement about being back at school. Changkyun just assumed it was an excuse for Hyungwon to add to his aesthetic.

Regardless, Changkyun clicked “like” on the picture anyway. He smiled, lifted himself off the ground, and placed his phone on the other side of the room from where he was sitting. He didn’t want to sit and constantly think about Hyungwon, because he knew that he would want to keep periodically looking back at his phone, begging for Hyungwon’s name to pop up in his screen. Changkyun sat with his friends, playing their game, doing his damn hardest to think of anything, but Chae Hyungwon’s name.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you’ve kept up with this since I started publishing it, I’M SO SORRY IT TOOK ME ALMOST TWO MONTHS TO UPDATE! My personal life got real busy. I hope this chapter sufficed, I can’t believe it’s almost done :~)
> 
> TW: lots of underage drinking and mention of alcohol in this chapter!

Thursday was an easier day for Changkyun since he had a two hour class later in the day, but he took advantage of his extra time. With discontent, he took the time to get ready and go to the cafeteria with Hoseok and Minhyuk before they had their own classes. Changkyun was no good before noon, but he didn’t want to buy another premade meal from the cafeteria. Instead, he took advantage of circling the stations at the cafeteria and sitting down with his friends. As the boys stuffed their faces, they made plans to hang out before the they went to Hyunwoo’s house later that night. Hoseok claimed that Jooheon was going to be able to get them alcohol for their night as well. 

After Hoseok and Minhyuk departed from Changkyun, bound for class, Changkyun decided to go to the library until geology, also known as the dinosaur class, started at four. His plan was to complete some homework for the following week so he wouldn’t have to worry about making time during his precious weekend. Once he found a spot in the library, he made himself a to-do list of each assignment for the next week in order of priority. Reading for his dinos class was first since Changkyun hadn’t even opened the front cover yet, followed by biology reading and a biology quiz. He figured during his three hours he secluded himself in the library would suffice for the amount of time he needed. 

Changkyun sat himself at the top floor of the library near a window for natural lighting, his back facing the rest of the library. The floor was deemed for absolute silence, no talking allowed. Changkyun had his two musts that he needed to concentrate: bright lighting and quiet, but his mind was busier than ever.

He couldn’t get his mind of Hyungwon. 

Changkyun cringed every time Hyungwon seemed to creep his way into his thoughts and Changkyun found himself peering from his reading material and looking around the library in hopes he would see him. Changkyun felt like he was wasting his time expecting to find Hyungwon in the library. He was becoming too comfortable with the damn coincidences and running into him. At the same time, he didn’t want Hyungwon to usher himself over to Changkyun if he did manage to find him. Changkyun felt so paranoid of doing something stupid or saying something dumb in front of Hyungwon, which was as ridiculous.

Luckily, Changkyun had enough time to finish reading for dinos and take notes along with completing the biology reading and managing to receive a perfect score on his quiz. He celebrated his small victory and glanced at the clock; he still had just enough time to grab a coffee before his class started. Although it wasn’t something Changkyun would normally drink, he realized that he would definetly need the extra energy for tonight knowing well that he might be staying awake to see the break of dawn.

As Changkyun walked to the cafe, he hoped he wouldn’t run into Hyungwon. He was stuck in this circle, an eternal loop, of feeling this way about Hyungwon, a constant state of feeling nervous and excited when thinking about him. The feeling only intensified when Changkyun knew he would be seeing him in person. Even after he received his iced coffee and went to class, sitting near the front of the lecture this time for a quickest escape once his class was over, Changkyun was practically shaking. He figured it was because of nervousness about tonight and the coffee making him jittery. He couldn’t stand it. Changkyun felt uneasy and queasy, and more than anything he just wanted his friends with him the moment to calm his nerves. 

Eventually as Changkyun settled into learning all about dinosaurs, he was able to relax and catch his breath. He took notes and paid attention to everything his professor said. Despite it being a geology class, Changkyun enjoyed it for the historic elements, making him hang on every word that came out of his professor’s mouth. He tried to push the anxieties about his night ahead from his mind, but they still lingered. With alcohol involved and his friends, he was sure what the possibilities would be. Jooheon’s words from yesterday remained on the surface of his mind, so Changkyun mindfully repeated them to himself until class let out. 

On the walk back to his dorm, Changkyun realized how excited he was about later that night. His favorite thing about college thus far has been meeting his friends and rooming with Minhyuk. He loves the nights he loses the most sleep because he’s walking home at four in the morning and tossing and turning because he’s miserable sleeping in his bed. As much energy it takes, Changkyun lives for it. Even though things with Hyungwon might not go in the direction he wants too, he still had his friends.

When Changkyun opened his dorm room after dragging himself up the stairs, he found Minhyuk huddled under a blanket with a controller firmly in his grasp, playing video games, and Hoseok asleep on Changkyun’s own bed. Hoseok was so sound asleep he didn’t even flinch when Changkyun opened the door. His mouth was slightly agape and he was curled up into a small ball. Engrossed in the bright lights of his game, all Minhyuk provided Changkyun was a small head nod welcoming him home. Changkyun then took it upon himself to wake Hoseok up. Slowly tip toeing to the end of his bed, he walked as quietly as possible to not wake his friend. He gently climbed on the side of the bed that Hoseok wasn’t clinging too, and wrapped his arms around his friend, cuddling him aggressively. Barely able to wake up from Changkyun’s movements, Hoseok looked to his side where Changkyun now lied. He rubbed his eyes and asked Changkyun what he was doing. 

Changkyun laughed. “You’re in my bed, and you ask what I’m doing?” Changkyun released his arms from around Hoseok and got up to plop himself on the floor. His bed just wasn’t made for two people to sit comfortably. 

“I’m sorry I fell asleep. Minhyuk is just so bad at entertaining his guests. I got bored and passed out,” Hoseok chided and rubbed his eyes. “What time is Jooheon coming over?”

Minhyuk suddenly moved, dropping his controller. “Well, if you hadn’t been Mr. Sleeping Beauty, I would’ve known earlier that Jooheon is coming over at seven.”

Hoseok’s response was silence followed by tossing one of Changkyun’s pillows in Minhyuk’s general direction, except he missed completely and the pillow hit the wall instead. Minhyuk and Changkyun began laughing hysterically as Hoseok sat in frustration.

They then decided that they needed to order pizza and play videogames until Jooheon came over with their alcohol since his Big, Hyunwoo, offered to get it for them. After arguing after which pizza toppings were necessary they began to have a tournament via games. The outcome would be Changkyun as the winner at the end, followed by Minhyuk, then Hoseok, who protested that this wasn’t something he did on a normal basis. He then started calling the other two nerds who had too much free time. Minhyuk and Changkyun rolled their eyes as Hoseok began to whine, stuffing their faces in the process. 

Eventually, there was finally a second knock on their door, which to their hopes, was Jooheon. Hoseok opened the door with a flourish to reveal Jooheon with a large paper bag in his hand. Immediately, Hoseok flung his arms around Jooheon and thanked him repeatedly. He even kept his arms around Jooheon as Jooheon tried to walk inside. 

“What’s with you?” he asked, fixing his snapback that Hoseok managed to tilt when he tossed his arms around Jooheon’s neck. 

“I never thought I’d see you with this beautiful, luscious figure,” he said, pulling a bottle of clear liquid from the brown bag. The bottle had somewhat of a curve like an hourglass. Hoseok then kissed it and held it close. 

Jooheon rolled his eyes. “Oh my God, you’re already a mess.”

“It’s okay. I told him I’d babysit him tonight,” Minhyuk said, grabbing a soda from his mini fridge and disposable cups from their storage cabinet. Hoseok, on the other hand, continued to cradle the bottle and wear a too-bright smile on his face. 

Jooheon grabbed two slices of pizza and stacked them on top of each other, eating them simultaneously. “Well, tonight will be interesting, right Changkyun?”

Changkyun looked from the game on the TV to Jooheon, his eyebrows furrowed, completely perplexed. “What do you mean, ‘Right Changkyun?’ I’m not doing anything weird. He’s the one you need to be worried about!” Changkyun said, pointing to Hoseok. “I’m not going to embarrass you.” 

“That’s not what I meant. Hyungwon is going to be there.”

“Ooooh!” the boys drew out as a chorus. Changkyun rolled his eyes.

“Leave it alone guys,” he mumbled, taking another bite of pizza. “We knew this already.” 

The guys dropped the subject, but it didn’t stop from Changkyun’s heart from racing. Why did they need to remind him? He was already painfully aware. 

Changkyun changed the subject. “So, are we doing what we did last time?”

“What do you mean?” Minhyuk asked.

“No!” Jooheon screamed loud enough for the first floor of the dorms to hear. “If you’re talking about that drinking game, no. No. I refuse to take part. No.” 

Minhyuk started laughing at the top of his lungs, falling and rolling onto his side on his bed in the process. Jooheon’s deadpan seriousness was enough to make the guys break into hysterics. Last week the guys decided to play a drinking game based on their new favorite videogame. However, Jooheon was so incredibly drunk by the time they went to Hyunwoo’s he could barely stand. He ended up passing out on Hyunwoo’s bed in the middle of the party after going way too wild and making a spectacle. 

In the end, Minhyuk, Hoseok, and Changkyun were able to coerce Jooheon into buying into their game. Jooheon said he wanted to wait to play because they knew they would gang up on them. The guys made vodka sodas and grabbed controllers, sitting inches from the TV like that would help their game play. The first round Changkyun won, which caused the other guys to take a drink. After several rounds Changkyun managed to stay absolutely sober. It wasn’t until Jooheon joined and actually won that Changkyun had to take a sip.

“How did you win? This has to be impossible,” Minhyuk whined. “What’d you do to cheat?”

“It’s all skill, guys. I was just playing you before, I’m really good at this.” Changkyun and Minhyuk scoffed at Jooheon’s loftiness and ability to claim that it was skill and not pure chance or luck he won.

The following round Minhyuk won, tripling his score from Jooheon. According to their house rules this called for Jooheon to take a shot. 

Jooheon stared at the screen that revealed their scores and ached with pain. He was having flashback from last week. This is how it all started. He would lose so significantly it caused him to take shots, resulting in his drunk state. However, as much as Jooheon milked his worry, he played along and took the repercussion. 

They continued to play several rounds until Jooheon’s phone started to buzz. He was slumped against Changkyun’s bed, fighting to grab his phone. His eyes were droopy and barely open and he answered his phone before even looking at who was calling.

“Hello? No, I’m at Minhyuk and Changkyun’s. Yes… Yes… No, not yet. There’s a little left in the first bottle. No, I didn't have half! No… Yes. Okay, okay. We’ll be there soon,” Jooheon says into his phone and hangs up and glances around at everyone. “Hyunwoo wants us over now. No one’s really there though. It’s up to you guys.”

“Here, let’s all do one,” Hoseok said, already in the process of filling up their only two shot glasses and straight vodka into solo cups. 

“You’re trying to kill me,” Jooheon shaking his head. He already had two in the past hour and one drink. 

“This still wasn’t as bad as last week,” Minhyuk laughed, grabbing a cup.  
They all swallowed and gasped for air once the vodka began to warm their stomachs. Changkyun could take it. The taste didn’t bother him so much anymore, he just hated the lead up. The saliva that puddled in his mouth as he anticipated what was coming. He preferred something darker, but beggars couldn’t be choosers. 

Before leaving to Hyunwoo’s, Minhyuk and Changkyun put away their things. Knowing well that they wouldn’t want to leave their beds tomorrow morning. It was the worst. Changkyun couldn’t tell if Minhyuk felt this way, but every motion Changkyun managed seemed dramatic and extravagant. His body felt heavy, but at the same time he felt good. 

“How are you Jooheon?” asked Hoseok, wrapping himself around Jooheon. Hoseok was already a super friendly person, but his willingness to cling to people exponentially rose when he drank. 

“I hate you,” Jooheon seethed, but allowed Hoseok to hug him.

“No, you love me. You love us,” Hoseok smiled. 

Jooheon whined more as they walked out. 

After slipping out the door, Changkyun debated texting Hyungwon or not. There was no harm in sending a simple message, but at the same time Changkyun didn’t want to be a needy person. He just wanted to see Hyungwon. 

He decided against all better judgement to send him a message. As he walked down the stairs of his complex, he tried to quickly type something brief, but once he reached the solid ground he realized the text is a mess as he realized autocorrect took over while he was trying to walk down stairs. He tried to decode the message himself, but it’s futile. Instead, he stopped walking altogether to focus on writing his message. Changkyun eventually was satisfied with his breezy message and pressed send. When he looked up from his phone his friends are a dozen feet ahead, not even realizing their friend was left behind. Changkyun jogged to catch up. 

The walk to Hyunwoo’s is a nonevent. Time seems to go by quickly since everyone, including Changkyun, was drunk. They banded together by laughing and chuckling at dumb inside jokes and anecdotes that they could recall. Suddenly, fifteen minutes passed and they were at Hyunwoo’s house. They stopped in front of the Phi Ki frat house, which Changkyun took in. 

Sure, Changkyun was drunk, but he couldn’t help but love the aesthetic of this kind of party scene. A two story house dedicated to a frat, brothers who claimed this dingy house as their own. As Minhyuk opened the door, Changkyun noticed there weren’t too many people in the house, but the air still felt sticky and hot once everyone walked through the door. As Changkyun entered the living room he saw giant Phi Ki letters in green, black, and white, the fraternity’s own colors. All the lights in the house were turned off as well except for the ceiling above them that hung dozens and dozens of cords of bright green string lights, and because of the lights everyone glowed with a subtle eerie green. Besides the basic furniture the house was decently empty. The guys who roomed in this house didn’t care about their interior, clearly. Changkyun remembered that Hyunwoo mentioned that there would be less for people to break away. 

Most of Changkyun’s thoughts were drowned out by the speakers that lined the house with music playing through all of them. Bunches of girls were slowly dancing with their friends in the living room, cups in hands, as the music seemed to grow louder. Changkyun, however, felt himself gravitate towards the garage door. 

Beyond the threshold on the door was the notorious beer pong table that Changkyun ruled. It was just in him to be good at games, but this was something else. Changkyun could be at his worst, at his most drunk, but he could win a game a beer pong. People who wanted to get wasted would seek out Changkyun just to lose. He couldn’t be beaten. His title stuck throughout his college career; it was his party trick, his special talent. 

Minhyuk, who was significantly terrible at beer pong, offered to play a game one on one. Changkyun nodded to his roommate and checked his phone before Minhyuk took over the table. He had a messed from Hyungwon:  
Running late :( but see you soon

Changkyun could feel his body fill with warmth. He was actually going to be seeing Hyungwon tonight and by his text, made it sound like he wanted to hang out with him. With a smile on his face, he turned back to Minhyuk who was already handing him a ping pong ball.

“What’s with you?” Minhyuk questioned, puzzlement on his face.

Changkyun could only laugh. “Nothing.”

Changkyun began to become engrossed game after game. He was barely drinking anything at this point, so he kept a beer safely tucked underneath the table near one of the legs. The first game could have been luck, but by the third win Minhyuk and Changkyun knew that wasn’t it. It was Changkyun’s pure skill that made them win and the sloppiness of his other opponents that tried to match him. It during the fourth game that Changkyun was finally feeling his second beer even more. He was just that more lighter and just that less aware of his surroundings. As Changkyun tossed the ball into the air, holding his breath for it to land in the final cup against the other person, he felt some grab onto him tightly from behind. He looked down to see arms of a jean jacket wrapped around his waist and whoever it was was peering their head to the side of his, hollering as everyone noticed the ball drop into the cup on the table. Changkyun wanted to jump and yell as well, but he was mystified by the person holding onto him. The person quickly let go of Changkyun simultaneously as he spun around. It was Hyungwon, celebrating Changkyun’s victory with a wide grin. His face just inches from Changkyun’s. His breath hitched in his throat as a muttered, “Hi.” 

“Hey!” Hyungwon shouted enthusiastically, wrapping an arm around Changkyun’s shoulders this time. “My turn yet?”

“Sure, why not,” Minhyuk said, handing Hyungwon one of the ping pong balls and swiftly walking away with Hoseok on his arm. 

“I have to warn you,” Hyungwon said, bouncing the ball just a few inches from his palm, but missed significantly and dropped it on the floor. After he picked it up he added, “I’m absolutely terrible at this game and I’m pretty wasted right now so good luck.” Hyungwon winked at Changkyun as they took their place at one end of the table. Two people on the other side made a team who happened to be Hyunwoo and Jooheon. The pair were equally good as Changkyun, which began to make Changkyun sweat as he thought that this was a game he could actually lose. 

The game in the beginning was slow. Jooheon kept missing. Hyunwoo was missing and Hyungwon couldn’t throw to save his life. Changkyun’s arm was even feeling tired at this point and most of him was simply numb. He ultimately decided that his winning streak was coming to an end, but suddenly, Hyungwon began to land his ping pong ball into the other cups. Hyungwon unexpectedly had aim. Jooheon began to become outwardly frustrated, loud, and jealous in a playful way, which began to gather a crowd. Hyunwoo would only roll his eyes at his campy Little who thrived on all this attention. Changkyun and Hyungwon would laugh so hard at Jooheon’s nonsense they would giggle and bump into each other. At the end of the game, the last cup resided on Jooheon and Hyunwoo’s side. Although this was a game for fun, Changkyun loved to win or succeed. Video games. Classes. Life. He wasn’t outwardly competitive, but he enjoyed the thrill of winning, the rush. 

Hyungwon had the last ping pong in his hand and looked at Changkyun, who nodded for him to take his aim and toss it. Before he did so, he gave the ball a kiss and shot it into the air. It found its way to the red solo cup like a magnet and plunked itself in. 

Everything around Changkyun was silent. Then in one motion everyone erupted into loud yelling. Changkyun and Hyungwon looked at each other with their mouths agape, still screaming, their hands in the air. Hyungwon turned his back to Changkyun to look at Jooheon and Hyunwoo and for some reason, Changkyun instinctively jumped on Hyungwon’s back. Although he was unsure at what was happening at first, Hyungwon held onto Changkyun’s legs and held him up. Changkyun looped his arms around his neck as Hyungwon was able to lift them. Everyone was still rowdy from the intense game, so Changkyun’s actions brought them everyone’s excitement even more. 

Jooheon and Hyunwoo then came up to Changkyun and Hyungwon to congratulate them on their victory. Jooheon chuckled and pulled out his phone; without saying a word, he pulled back gesturing to take a picture of the two. Clutching to Hyungwon’s back, Changkyun managed to give a peace sign while still hooking his other arm around Hyungwon’s neck. Immediately, after Jooheon stopped taking the picture, Changkyun figured he should’ve jumped off Hyungwon by now.

After leaping off of Hyungwon’s back, Changkyun couldn’t stop his heart from racing. Hyungwon was all smiles and even pulled Changkyun for a side hug, his arm reaching around Changkyun’s shoulders, which in turn, made Changkyun slip his arm around Hyungwon’s waist, pulling him close as well. Changkyun’s chin could rest easily on Hyungwon’s shoulders, which made him take in account his height. He glanced at Hyungwon’s features: his dark, beaming eyes, the gentleness and purity of his face, the corners of his lips the hooked into his radiant smile. For a moment, Changkyun thought his heart stopped as he could no longer hear the loud beat of his heart pulsing in his ears. He found himself lost once again in Hyungwon’s stunning presence. 

“We did good,” Hyungwon said breathlessly. 

“Yeah, yeah we did,” Changkyun mentioned, pulling away, no longer staring at Hyungwon. “Let’s see that picture, Jooheon.” 

Jooheon slid Changkyun and Hyungwon his phone. The image the two boys looked at was priceless: Changkyun looked so small on Hyungwon’s back. His legs fiercely sticking out with Hyungwon’s arms wrapped around him. Changkyun wore a cheesey smile while Hyungwon stuck out his tongue. 

Changkyun couldn’t believe he had a picture with Hyungwon like this. They looked… like a couple, just having a good time.

Hyungwon turned back to Changkyun, “I think we deserve to celebrate come on,” Hyungwon declared, tugging gently on the sleeve of Changkyun’s t-shirt. 

Changkyun followed Hyungwon dizzily through the crowd of people, the groups of peers huddled together talking, drinking, and laughing. The glowing ceiling of green lights iridescently illuminated everyone’s faces. Changkyun somewhat searched for someone he knew until he found Minhyuk and Hoseok sitting on bar stools talking to Phi Ki’s in the kitchen. 

“Hey, we heard about your feat,” Minhyuk said, high fiving Changkyun and Hyungwon.

Hoseok on the other hand threw himself at Changkyun, embracing him in a hug that took Changkyun’s breath away. Shocked, Changkyun didn’t immediately return the gesture. He simultaneously hesitated, slowly wrapping his arms around Hoseok and gave a look to Minhyuk, who yelled, “He’s wasted!”

Changkyun couldn’t help but snicker and hug his poor friend who would easily be hurting in every ounce of his body tomorrow, even closer. 

“And I don’t even care that I have an eight AM class!” Hoseok shouted into Changkyun’s shoulder.

“I bet you don’t!” Changkyun said, letting go of his friend. 

“Here, here, Minhyuk cut me off so you have to do a shot for me,” Hoseok tempted, grabbing the nearest bottle of vodka and shot glasses for Hyungwon and Changkyun. 

Changkyun looked at Hyungwon who shrugged. “Why not?” 

As Hoseok surprisingly steadily poured the clear liquid into glasses, Changkyun felt his mouth start to water. He always hated this part. Minhyuk was still on his bar stool, sipping on a beer, shaking his head.

“I feel like a baby sitter tonight,” he said between drinks. “He’s been trying to get everyone on his level, except that he doesn’t realize no one wants to be on his level so I told him to knock it off or were leaving.” The moment Minhyuk finished his sentence Hoseok immediately wrapped his arms around Minhyuk’s shoulders, kissing him on the cheek.

“Don’t deny it Lee Minhyuk, you love it!” 

Minhyuk rolled his eyes and continued to let Hoseok do what he wanted, except take another sip of anything at the makeshift bar in the kitchen. 

“Here, here, take your drinks!” Hoseok yelled, handing Hyungwon and Changkyun their victory shots. “Remember to make eye contact before you drink or you’ll be cursed with bad sex for a year!” 

Hyungwon raised his eyebrows. “Well, we don’t want that now do we?” Hyungwon said lowly, but enough for Changkyun to hear over the music. Maybe it was the liquid courage in Changkyun’s blood, but he smirked and winked at Hyungwon. 

“Come on!” Hoseok urged. 

As promised, Changkyun and Hyungwon’s eyes met, tipped their heads back, and let the liquid slither down their throats and into the pit of their stomachs, letting the fire of the vodka radiate throughout their bodies. Changkyun watched as Hyungwon’s face scrunched with regret and he couldn’t help, but laugh at his reaction.

“What? Don’t judge me! I don’t like vodka,” he said, joining Changkyun laughing. He then slung his arm over Changkyun’s shoulders again as if they were the best of friends. With the vodka warming his body, Changkyun felt himself lean his head on Hyungwon’s shoulder, which caused Hyungwon to tip his own on Changkyun’s. Minhyuk noticed the body language between the two and gave a look to Changkyun by raising his eyebrows and taking a sip of his beer. 

“Hey, Hoseok, let’s go find Jooheon, come on,” Minhyuk gestured, tugging on Hoseok’s sleeve. 

“Wait, let me play bartender for them one last time, okay?” Hoseok protested. Minhyuk didn’t even have the opportunity to refute, because their friend was already grabbing several bottles to fill cups that were lined on the counter. As Hoseok started pouring, Minhyuk and Changkyun chided and gave their friend a hard time with what he was doing; he was drunk after all, but every time they made a comment Hoseok loudly shushed them. Hyungwon thought their dynamics were hilarious and kept trying to stifle his laughs with his hand, which only egged on Minhyuk and Changkyun more. Changkyun watched as Hyungwon thought their comments were funny with his eyes crinkling and smile revealing his teeth. After a few minutes, Hoseok’s concoction was complete and handed Changkyun and Minhyuk their cups. 

“And with that, I will say my goodbyes,” Hoseok said, bending at the waist and bowing. Minhyuk rolled his eyes and hooked a finger into the collar of Hoseok’s shirt, dragging him away and leaving Changkyun and Hyungwon with their cups. 

Changkyun took the plunge and took a sip of the drink Hoseok made him and Hyungwon. The liquid that was filled to the rim tasted like candy, but Changkyun knew well that the amount of alcohol that was actually in his drink was enough to actually get himself on Hoseok’s level. He had to admit it to his friend, if film school didn’t work out in his future, Hoseok had a future in bartending. 

After taking another sip of his drink Changkyun looked at Hyungwon. “Wanna go find a seat? There’s a lot of people in here” he offered. He couldn’t tell if he felt warm because of the alcohol or if it was due to being left along with Hyungwon once again and no matter the amount of liquid courage would leave him nervous. 

Hyungwon nodded and started walking through the clusters of people in the living room, finding a corner with unused stools lined up in a row. Changkyun realized that the noise diminished as soon as they walked into the living room with less people. There were mostly girls fanning themselves, huddled together gossiping and laughing at the dumb things that frat guys have managed to say to them tonight. 

However, Changkyun found himself leaning his shoulder against a wall, his head cocked at an angle, and stealing glances between Hyungwon and the rest of the people in front of them. Hyungwon had his arms crossed, but unfolded them to put his drink down on a stool. He looked back at Changkyun and smiled.

“What was that for?” Changkyun said, and then soon realized he said that aloud and not internally in his mind. 

Hyungwon shook his head. “Nothing.”

Changkyun sucked in his breath and held it there and counted the seconds until either Hyungwon or himself managed to say something, but Hyungwon didn’t. Instead Changkyun caught him smiling again as he glanced around the party then looked down. Still leaning against the wall Changkyun, tapped Hyungwon’s arm with the tips of his fingers, his arm feeling heavy from the alcohol, and asked him what was on his mind. 

Hyungwon’s smiled diminished and turned to Changkyun. He copied his exact pose, tilting his head against the wall. Changkyun found himself holding his breath again and not on his own account. Hyungwon was so close to him, somewhat peering down at him because of their height difference. Hyungwon mimicked Changkyun’s gesture and tapped Changkyun’s shoulder with his fingers. Except they didn’t leave his shoulder, they lingered for a second.

And another.

Then Hyungwon moved his hand down Changkyun’s arm allowing his fingers run freely over his skin. His hand stopped at Changkyun’s wrist, idling. Changkyun suddenly looked at Hyungwon who was simply staring at their hands, but he moved an inch closer. It felt like hours until Hyungwon’s eyes met Changkyun’s, but they did and Changkyun felt his jaw become unhinged and hang. 

Another second.

Hyungwon’s dark eyes met Changkyun’s. He managed to look at him with utter conviction. With Hyungwon’s hand still on Changkyun’s wrist and their faces being only inches apart, Changkyun heard everything around him fall silent. No music, no voices. Everyone, everything seemingly disappeared from his peripheral vision. 

Everyone, but Hyungwon.


	5. Chapter 5

Under the light Hyungwon glowed. 

“Can I ask you a question?” Hyungwon inquired, his low voice was inviting. He was so close to Changkyun, so close. He could feel his looming presence to his left, which made his heart began to beat faster. Hyungwon managed to look back at Changkyun who closed his eyes for a little longer than a second. 

“Yeah.” A blank statement.

“Can I kiss you?” 

Perplexity shifted among Changkyun’s face as he turned directly towards Hyungwon. He knew that he wasn’t imagining this situation at all, with Hyungwon leaning against the wall, his body toward Changkyun. Hyungwon’s expression didn’t change, he wasn’t too drunk to be asking such a request, and Changkyun knew, and that made Changkyun more nervous than anything.

He desperately wanted Hyungwon to kiss him, to feel his soft lips on his own, for his hands to get tangled into his hair, and feel Hyungwon’s hands venture over Changkyun’s body. 

Time was still. The laughter and noise faded into the background as Changkyun stood in front of Hyungwon, looking up at his brown eyes. The green lights from above highlighted Hyungwon’s cheekbones. Suddenly, Changkyun felt himself nod.

“Yes.” 

For a moment, Changkyun didn’t realize that Hyungwon stepped even closer, but he tipped his had a lifted his hand to Changkyun’s chin pulling him close. Their kiss was warm, soft with an unfortunate reminisce of alcohol attached to their breath. Changkyun didn’t mind; he was kissing Hyungwon. The boys were drowned out by the party, left in the background for their own sake. Their hands traveling on the other’s skin as they hung close. 

Hyungwon broke away first. His chest heaved as he looked at Changkyun, one of his hands drifted to his hips while the other rested on his neck, and he smiled. Hyungwon’s bright smile lit a fire in Changkyun’s stomach that radiated throughout his body, and he was so thankful that Hyungwon pulled away, because again, he realized how Hyungwon was too beautiful and Changkyun felt too lucky. 

“So, is bio going to be full of moments like this now?” Changkyun joked. “Humor me and just tell me yes.”

Hyungwon dropped his hands and tilted his head back laughing, still less than an inch away from Changkyun. “Maybe sometimes, when we’re not busy getting caught,” he purrs, his voice low. “We might have to move to the back of the class.”

“I like how that promise sounds.” 

Changkyun realized that Hyungwon found his way to sitting on one of the stools next to them as they continued to kiss. Their height difference, although wasn’t a problem, was sure comical. Even as he sat, Hyungwon was still a tiny bit taller than Changkyun. The boys couldn’t stop coyly smiling at one another as they exchanged kisses. Nothing was aggressive, but there was longing built up to this moment. 

They eventually pulled away for the sake of being caught. Changkyun looked at his phone and found that Jooheon sent him the picture of himself and Hyungwon. He couldn’t stop smiling. He grinned ear to ear as he showed Hyungwon.

Hyungwon beamed. “Please send that to me,” he said, sliding his hands onto Changkyun’s sides. “Do you mind if I put it online? I really like it.”

Changkyun gulped hard and nodded, pressing send on his phone. “I want to find Minhyuk. If I’m away from him for too long I go into shock.”

Hyungwon laughed and began walking, Changkyun hung closely behind. 

Eventually the two boys found Minhyuk and Hoseok in the backyard, where the flow of string lights continued as they lined the fence. The two were sitting along the edge of what was left of a small garden, but due to the lack of care, diminished to a simple patch of dirt. They were pointing and laughing with some other random people watching a card game take place on a table. 

“Hey!” Minhyuk yelled cheerfully once he saw his roommate walking towards him. “We’ve missed you guys!” 

Hoseok was leaning on Minhyuk for support. He looked tired and sleepy. He easily towers over Minhyuk in size, but often is the one looking to cling to people. Hoseok’s legs touched the ground. Minhyuk’s didn’t.

“You doing okay there?” Changkyun asked Hoseok who slowly gazed up at his friend. He blinked in what seemed like slow motion.

“Let me ask you Changkyun, do I look okay?” 

Changkyun winced. “That bad?”

“I’m getting tired and sad about having a class tomorrow morning… it’s already tomorrow anyway! When did it become one in the morning? I have class in 7 hours!” With a grimace, Hoseok smashed his face into Minhyuk’s shoulder and groaned. Minhyuk’s version of consoling his friend was to gently pat his shoulder.

“Anyway,” Minhyuk said. “Want to play this game? It looks like most of the people who were here aren’t coming back.”

Changkyun and Hyungwon looked at each other and nodded. They dragged Hoseok to join the two people left sitting at the table. They were playing a game of King’s Cup, which included a deck of cards and a red solo cup in the middle. People took turns drawing cards and with each card entailed a sort of mini-game that the group would have to perform. The cup in the middle was used for the King cards specifically, where once individuals drew a King card they would pour some of their drink into the cup. Once the fourth King was pulled from the deck the person who drew the card would have to drink the concoction in the middle. 

“This is probably my favorite game,” Hyungwon laughed as they all took seats. 

Changkyun smiled hearing Hyungwon laugh. 

As the game went on, everyone became insanely bitter while playing. Anytime anyone drew a two card, which meant they could choose anyone to drink, it was Hoseok. Changkyun picked a nine several times, forcing everyone to rhyme with a word. He happened to be decent when it came to vocabulary and linguistics, making him pretty good when it came to rhyming. The games were tricky, especially while drinking. It was hard to follow along with tongue twisters and hand motions, the requests and reminders that each card represented. 

Despite the game being only slightly frustrating, there was a lot of laughter that filled the open space of the backyard as people slipped in and out. Meanwhile, Changkyun lost all fear and anxiety hanging around Hyungwon in this atmosphere. He was having fun with his friends and this guy he happened to like a lot. He never wanted this night, or this honeymoon, nostalgic feeling he felt for this moment, to end. 

The fun was soon over when Minhyuk drew the last King card, subjecting him to drink the concoction in the middle of the table. 

His jaw dropped and eyes closed, wincing in the pain he was about to endure. About the three quarters of the drink in the cup was various beer, not bad necessarily, but the other twenty-five percent was various mixed drinks. In reality, it couldn’t taste that good. Minhyuk was making every excuse he could think of to get out of drinking the disgusting beverage on the table, but no one was having it. Changkyun couldn’t stop laughing and stifled his fits of giggles into Hyungwon’s, who was covering his mouth from laughing, shoulder. Everyone was helpless. The game had so much build up. Eventually, Hoseok pushed himself from his chair and grabbed the red solo cup in the middle of the table. 

“Come on, bottoms up,” he said, sliding Minhyuk the drink and a wink in his direction.

“Stop being fucking coy, you dick,” Minhyuk retorted, taking the cup and putting the rim to his lips. He paused for one moment, but then tilted his head back and began to drink the horrific mixture. He finished it in a matter of seconds, putting the cup down and wiped the residue off his lips. “Fuck this game.” 

“Wow, I forgot how feisty you get when you drink,” Hoseok chided. Minhyuk rolled his eyes, which left Changkyun and Hyungwon obnoxiously laughing. 

“Don’t get me started with you two,” Minhyuk said taking as sip of his own drink to wash down the rest of the taste in his mouth. 

Hoseok suddenly looked interested in this topic. He propped his elbow on the table and fit his head in his palm. With a smirk he asked, “Oh, did something happen now?”

Changkyun rolled his eyes at his two friends prying for information, but then gave them a blank gaze. Hyungwon on the other hand shifted in his chair.

“More like… something is happening between us,” Hyungwon stated as matter of fact. 

Changkyun looked at him, which caused Hyungwon to glance back. He smiled subtly, but still managed to make Changkyun’s heart skip. He felt his cheeks become warm from the feeling and the alcohol still in his system. 

“Oh, God,” Minhyuk scoffed and took another sip. 

After this Changkyun noticed the dramatic difference of the party. He no longer heard the yelling voices of various people throughout the house. The music was still playing, but not as loudly. He could see through the windows that there weren’t too many bodies shuffling around this house. Everyone who was outside before filtered themselves back to the house. After glancing around, he met eyes with Minhyuk who nodded.

“Is it time?” Hoseok mentioned after noticing their exchange. 

Changkyun felt his stomach sink further into his gut. He didn’t want to leave this party, that meant leaving Hyungwon as well, but the night ran its course. It was now past two in the morning and it took a while for the guys to gather Jooheon and say their goodbyes as well. 

Hyungwon looked at Changkyun and sighed, a small smile snuck its way to the corner of his lips. Changkyun got up from his chair, but Hyungwon grabbed him by his collar and pushed Changkyun towards him. Although sudden, Changkyun knew what Hyungwon was doing. He planted a kiss right on Hyungwon’s thick lips and laughed.

“I don’t want you to leave,” Hyungwon said.

“And I don’t want to go,” Changkyun responded, but he offered Hyungwon a hand and pulled him from his chair. 

Jooheon was found on the couch sleeping on his Big’s shoulders as his Big was talking to a girl who Changkyun has seen him with before. Changkyun walked directly up to Jooheon and tapped the middle of his forehead. Jooheon woke in a frenzy and groaned.

“What was that for?” Jooheon whined.

“Come on we’re leaving.”

“Okay,” he said, pushing himself off the couch and giving his Big one last hug before he left. He grabbed one of Changkyun’s shoulders and said, “Hey, how did things go with you know who tonight?” 

Changkyun felt his cheeks turn bright red since Hyungwon was still standing in close proximity. Hyungwon could only laugh. 

“They went really well for him, thanks for asking,” Hyungwon joked, wrapping one of his arms around Changkyun’s shoulders again. 

It was now time for Jooheon’s ears to turn bright pink. It was obvious he felt embarrassed about his choice of words so he rushed out of the house first, followed by Minhyuk and Hoseok trailing close behind. Changkyun didn’t want to go with them, he wanted to stay, but he knew he needed to leave this for now. 

Hyungwon walked with him out the front door and grabbed his hand before Changkyun could stray too far. He wrapped Changkyun into a tight hug and he buried his face into Hyungwon’s shoulder. 

“I had fun tonight,” Hyungwon said, 

“Well, I’m not going to lie. I hope to have a few more fun nights with you.”

Hyungwon tossed his head back and chuckled, releasing Changkyun simultaneously. He then quickly gave Changkyun a small peck on the lips. “Can’t say I’m against that, too.”

Hyungwon gently touched Changkyun’s hand. “Are you coming to me tomorrow for veggie burgers?” 

Changkyun snorted. “That’s so embarrassing. I wouldn’t dare to go to anyone else for those. My limit is letting just one person know a semester.” 

Changkyun felt the eyes of his friends linger as they waited for Changkyun to say his goodbyes.

“I hate to be that dude, but I have a morning class,” Hoseok shouted by cupping his hands. 

Changkyun rolled his eyes. “He didn’t care about that the past few hours,” he said under his breath. He looked up at Hyungwon one last time. His thick, long lashes still casting a shadow underneath the lamp light outside. 

“Bye,” Hyungwon muttered with a smirk. He stepped back, but grabbed Changkyun’s sleeve. “I’ll see you in bio,” he added coyly and winked. He shouted to the rest of the guys lining the sidewalk before he turned around and headed back inside.

Changkyun shrunk and walked back to his friends who stood in silence. 

“Who’s that guy?” asked Hoseok. Changkyun’s face contorted like he tasted something sour. “I’m kidding, I’m kidding! We’re assuming things went well?” 

Changkyun understood the jokes and the chiding. He wanted to continue to talk about Hyungwon, but part of him wasn’t sure where Hyungwon and his relationship landed. 

“I saw that you were tagged in a picture from earlier,” Hoseok stated. “You guys really like each other, huh?”

Changkyun turned around to look at the house he just left. A tinted green glow illuminated through the windows from the lights. He could no longer hear music playing down the street. 

He turned and smiled at Hoseok, “Yeah. Something like that.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I MEANT TO PUBLISH THIS A FEW DAYS AGO BUT IT WASN’T DONE WHOOPS. So, from some feedback from the last chapter, I realized I managed to leave a pretty big cliffhanger without saying sorry, OOPS! Hopefully the last chapter makes up for it. It’s been really fun. I hope everyone enjoyed it as much as I did <3 Wasn’t too sure how to end it exactly, but I hope this sufficed. Thank you all for your loving feedback, I hope to be back again with another fic soon :)


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